


Italian Wizarding Schools

by Highly_Illogical



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Essays, Fix-It, Gen, Headcanon, Rants, Some Humor, Speculation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-13
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-09-17 06:26:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9309470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Highly_Illogical/pseuds/Highly_Illogical
Summary: Have you noticed how Italy doesn't seem to be covered by any of the three major European magical schools--not even Beauxbatons, that accepts students from practically every other country adjoining France?In a sudden, unexplainable surge of patriotism, I'm attempting to fix it.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own J.K. Rowling's wizarding world. It's probably more correct to say _it_ owns _me_.  
>  However, the expansion of said world explained in this work is mine.

As you may know, I'm from Italy, which means that, as it is for many fans around the world, my foolish hope of ever getting my Hogwarts letter has been dashed, and all that's left is to cling to another one of the eleven major institutions--in my case, Beauxbatons, which is in France. Close enough, right? Not exactly. There's a small problem with the Pottermore piece about Beauxbatons that's been eating at me:

 

> _Beauxbatons Academy has a preponderance of French students, though Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Luxembourgians and Belgians also attend in large numbers (both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang have a larger studentship than Hogwarts)._

Notice anything? Italy is nowhere in there! Why? Is it implied that Italian students are also accepted, or is there some historical reason JKR isn't telling us about for them to be banned from the confines of the Academy? Some feud between French and Italian wizards?  
Well, however it is that things stand in Rowling's head, I prefer not to impose on our French cousins. If there is one thing that a large part of the fandom seems to agree on, it's that eleven schools are too few, but this is how she addresses the problem:

 

> _The number of countries that have their own magical school is minuscule compared to those that do not. This is because the wizarding populations of most countries choose the option of home schooling._

However, when faced with a particularly large area, even she acknowledges the weakness of this system:

 

> _Although Africa has a number of smaller wizarding schools (for advice on locating these, see introductory paragraph), there is only one that has stood the test of time (at least a thousand years) and achieved an enviable international reputation: Uagadou._

In said introduction, it is stated that:

 

> _Smaller and less well-regulated institutions have come and gone, are difficult to keep track of, and are rarely registered with the appropriate Ministry (in which case, I cannot vouch for the standard of education they might offer)._

Both these passages suggest an enormous, sprawling network of minor institutions of which the eleven great ones are only a part, if a big and prestigious one.  
Unlike Africa, Europe seems pretty well covered, with three of the eleven major schools on its territory, but there are still unexplainable holes in its patchwork of cultures:

  * Hogwarts is British to the core, catering specifically to the British Isles;
  * Beauxbatons is French, but also encompasses the countries mentioned above;
  * Durmstrang is _believed to be situated in the far north of Europe_ , but if we look at students and staff past and present, we find evidence of Russian, Slavic and German-sounding names (Grindelwald is, in fact, the name of a Swiss town: does that tell us that the French influence not only doesn't extend to Italy, but does not reach Switzerland either?).



What is conspicuously missing, besides Italy, is Greece, which is nowhere near the French area and perhaps too far south to be covered by Durmstrang. This is, quite frankly, astounding. The wizarding world draws heavily upon classical mythology: how is it that its two cradles are without a school?  
Naturally, as an Italian fan, the omission of Italy particularly hurts: the country's folklore and magical traditions are immensely rich and nuanced, dating back thousands of years, and great things could have been done with them, but weren't.  
That said, allow me to introduce my take on...

**_ Italian Wizarding Schools _ **

The wizarding school system in Italy has coalesced over the years into three larger poles towards which most students tend to gravitate, each covering a major geographic and cultural area:

  * Giubiana Wizards' Institute for the northern regions plus the enclaved microstate of San Marino;
  * Rhea Silvia Imperial Academy of Sorcery for the central regions;
  * Janara School of Magic for the southern regions.



Before we begin discussing the schools, remember one thing that is valid for all three: _there is no such thing as Houses_.  
Dividing the student body into houses is an eminently British concept that can be expected in Britain itself (Hogwarts) or in institutions purposefully modelled after the British system (Ilvermorny).  
Italian schools, both in the Muggle and the wizarding world, have no tradition nor practical need for houses.  
With a total population of about 60 million, as opposed to the 64 million of the UK plus about 4,5 million for Ireland, and assuming a similar percentage of wizards out of said total, there is no real reason to create houses. Italy has fewer wizards than the British Isles and splits them into three schools, while Hogwarts manages to cover them with one. This means smaller classes and no urgent need to take turns using spaces and equipment. _Ergo_ , no houses. Are you still following? Good.  
Without further ado, here are the details on each school!  
  
**_Giubiana Wizards' Institute_**

  * _Pronunciation:_ /d͡ʒuˈbjaːna/
  * _Main colour:_ blue, the colour of the Royal House of Savoy that ruled over Italy before it became a republic. (Fun fact: this is also the reason why our national football team has blue uniforms despite the red, white and green flag. The team was founded when Italy was still a monarchy and the colour stuck.)
  * _Symbol:_ a bull, the emblem of the city of Turin.
  * _Motto: Alacriter arcana discimus_ \- "We learn secrets with alacrity". The school prides itself on academic excellence and a well-stocked library of rare magical texts.
  * _Location:_ Turin
  * _Uniform:_ Savoy blue robes with a golden bull clasp.
  * _Architectural style:_ the version we see today was finished in the 18th century and consists of a single sprawling building with carefully manicured grounds, modelled not after the main residences of the royal family, but a hunting reservation.



The school is named after a witch-like figure appearing even in northern Italian Muggle folklore, but unlike its wizarding counterpart, a "giubiana" in Muggle legends is usually a negative and/or scary figure to be symbolically burnt during a celebration held on the last Thursday of January. This is done very much on purpose: it is an attempt to reclaim the name and proudly reaffirm, head held high: "Yes, this is what we are, no matter how much you try to malign and repress us."  
The location is not random: esoteric tradition says that certain cities in the world forms triangles, one for Dark magic and one for Light, and Turin is the only place in the world to be part of both, along with London and San Francisco for the former, and Prague and Lyon for the latter. In short, it was practically begging to be acknowledged with the formation of a proper institute.  
Students also take Alchemy as a school subject, but as it's considered too advanced for the younger ones, it only begins in third year, not unlike the electives at Hogwarts.  
While Quidditch is practiced in all three schools, Giubiana makes it a point to produce the very best athletes: many Italian professionals started their career as school players.  
_My reasoning for this:_

  * Quidditch is played on large stretches of land away from prying Muggle eyes. In Italy, you can find such places in the Po Valley, a notable plain around our longest river, with such a strong tendency for foggy weather it's practically become a stereotype.
  * In 2014, the Italian Seeker was called Luciano Volpi. He was only mentioned on Pottermore, but apparently had quite the reputation.
  * The surname is most common in the north and centre and almost absent in the south, with a particularly large cluster of occurrences in the north. If we attempt to fit the character into my system, he is very likely to have attended Giubiana.



And there you have it! We rock at flying!  
... Ahem. Did I just say "we"?  
Uh, yeah. Additional fun fact you may or may not care about: this is where I would have gone.  
  
**_Rhea Silvia Imperial Academy of Sorcery_**

  * _Latin pronunciation:_ /ˈrɛːa ˈsilvia/
  * _Anglicized pronunciation:_ /ˈriːɘ ˈsɪlviɘ/
  * _Main colour:_ red. In Ancient Rome, red was a very expensive colour to make, and therefore associated with wealth and power.
  * _Symbol:_ the Capitoline Wolf that, according to legend, raised the founders of Rome.
  * _Motto: Nobis a maioribus_ \- "From our ancestors to us", emphasizing that the magical tradition taught at the school dates back to ancient times.
  * _Location:_ Rome
  * _Uniform:_ white with red accents, secured at the shoulder and resembling a toga more than a classic wizard's robe.
  * _Architectural style:_ the school is, in fact, a dedicated section of the catacombs protected from the invasion of tourists by Muggle-Repelling Charms and suitably expanded to accommodate the students. At first, the tunnels were a safe haven for the early Christians, but as they came out into the open and shifted from the role of persecuted to that of persecutors, playing a large part in forcing the magical community into hiding, wizards ironically took their place.



The school is named after Rhea Silvia, mother of Romulus and Remus (sound familiar? Yeah, more on that later), the implication being that Rome may be ancient, but magic has been there even longer. They still call themselves Imperial Academy out of a somewhat misplaced sense of nostalgia for their glorious past, even though they don't control much of an empire anymore.  
Let's give credit where credit is due: the idea of placing the school entirely underground is an expansion of the concept of the Romulus and Remus Research Centre found in the fanfiction [Casting Moonshadows](http://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3378356/1/Casting-Moonshadows) by Moonsign. (Fair warning: it's slash, the main pairing being Sirius/Remus.)  
While there is no such centre in my universe, I took the idea of the catacombs and ran with it. We're already used to underground buildings of massive proportions such as Gringotts and the Ministry, but my version of magical Rome takes it to the next level. Compared to London, a lot more of wizarding Rome is underground literally as well as figuratively.  
On the subject of werewolves, there are several schools of thought on how the Muggle legend of the foundation of Rome should be interpreted:

  * some believe it is to be taken literally and the two infants were, in fact, saved from starvation by an actual wolf and then raised to adulthood by a family of peasants;
  * others, the staunchest supporters of werewolf rights, believe Romulus and Remus were both bitten very young and proceeded to do great things regardless;
  * others still, in keeping with the more mundane Muggle version that interprets the Latin word _lupa_ (female wolf) as a term for a prostitute instead, think the Capitoline Wolf was actually an Animagus who found the babies while wandering in her wolf form, but raised them as a human.



While the students of Rhea Silvia are generally more accepting of lycanthropy, it is, conversely, the one where Muggleborns have it hardest, though for slightly different reasons than you can find in Britain. A portion of Italian purebloods claims they can trace their families directly to the patrician clans of Ancient Rome (though whether those claims are true is another story), and Muggleborns can sometimes be regarded as plebeians because their magical ancestry is near-impossible to trace.  
The Latin language is an actual school subject here, right along with Charms and Potions, and gives the students of Rhea Silvia an uncommonly deep understanding of how spells are created, producing some of the best inventors of experimental charms.  
Divination, with particular focus on haruspicy (observation of entrails) and ornithomancy (observation of birds in flight), is also a field of excellence, with a slightly higher density of true Seers in the school's history than you would find elsewhere. These students are rumoured to be descended directly from the augurs and haruspices of old.  
The lighter stigma on werewolves and the fact that they don't bat an eye at gruesome methods of Divination has earned the alumni of Rhea Silvia the Darkest reputation of all three, but they will argue vehemently against it if confronted about it.  
  
**_Janara School of Magic_**

  * _Pronunciation:_ /jaˈnaːra/
  * _Main colour:_ yellow, like the sun and the wheat that shape so much of the area's landscape.
  * _Symbol:_ the Tree of Life. This school has a strong focus on all forms of magic that stem directly from what nature has to offer.
  * _Motto:_ _E natura potestas_ \- "Power from nature", fairly self-explanatory.
  * _Location:_ Benevento
  * _Uniform:_ none. The students must wear a Tree of Life emblem in the form of a pendant for boys and a brooch for girls, but are otherwise free to dress as they like within reasonable limits.
  * _Architectural style:_ also finished in the 18th century in a blend of Baroque and Neoclassical styles, which only adds to the rivalry with Giubiana (more on that later), the main difference from the northern school is that Janara is an open campus instead of a single building, built directly around the Walnut Tree of Benevento.



The thought process behind its name shares a lot of similarities with Giubiana, being also named after a local witch figure to give it a more positive connotation. This, besides the ongoing debate over which of the relatively similar constructions is more impressive, further fuels the friendly, and sometimes not-so-friendly, rivalry they share, with students getting into loud arguments about who copied whom.  
The Walnut Tree of Benevento, true centrepiece of the campus, is a large tree that has been the core of religious and magical rituals since before the Roman conquest of the area and burnt down several times because of it, only to regrow. Students are directly responsible for the preservation of the flourishing population of Bowtruckles in the tree.  
Yes, Bowtruckles. In a Mediterranean climate. Bear with me for a minute:

  * it's a walnut tree;
  * it boasts centuries of magical tradition;
  * Bowtruckles protect wand-quality trees;
  * walnut is a wand wood, notably Bellatrix Lestrange's.



I rest my case. That thing is alive with little sticks. Stay away if you still intend to use your eyes.  
Janara produces excellent potioneers and herbologists who firmly believe in harvesting their own ingredients instead of buying them from a store whenever possible.  
The school has been known to have some Parselmouths. Other than Salazar Slytherin, who passed the ability to the Gaunts, another certified Parselmouth was the Greek wizard Herpo the Foul, first-ever breeder of a Basilisk, The resurgence of Parseltongue in Janara's student body has led scholars to believe some of his descendants moved to the colonies of Magna Graecia and helped increase the wizarding population of the south of Italy.

**_ Giubiana vs. Janara: a Rivalry for the Ages _ **

The north and south of Italy have long-standing animosity between them: suffice it to say that the language has specific disparaging words for the inhabitants of both.  
The main weapon in this eternal fight consists of stereotypes: southerners pride themselves on qualities such as soulfulness, friendliness, resilience in the face of hardship and unerring loyalty to their families, as opposed to the north's perceived lack of emotion and empathy, while northerners boast a solid work ethic, industriousness, a higher sense of civic duty and a better education system, as opposed to the south's supposed laziness, dishonesty and ignorance.  
This is very much reflected in the relationship between the schools: while the Interschool Championship (see below) may foster long-distance friendships, with owls flying the length of the country to deliver perfectly civil letters, it is also not uncommon for such friendships to degenerate into increasingly heated exchanges of Howlers, and any direct confrontation between the two schools is often taken far too personally by the students involved.

**_ The Italian Interschool Championship _ **

No, it's not nearly as impressive as the Triwizard Tournament, but it's somewhat modelled after it. It happens every four years rather than five, much like the Olympics, with brief interruptions only when the events of Muggle history made it unsafe for delegations to move _en masse_ , and it's hosted by each of the three schools on a rotational basis. Being a national, and not international, event, it does not warrant large and impressive resources to organize different tasks of an epic nature each time, but is instead a series of more common wizarding tournaments.

  * **Quidditch**



Six matches, each combination plays twice. When Giubiana and Janara go up against each other, get out of there. Just get out. It's going to be bloody. Giubiana boasts the most overall victories, but there may be surprises.

  * **Broomstick racing**



The conditions aren't quite as terrible as those of the race in Sweden, but students choosing to take part may be transferred anywhere from the Alps to a volcanic archipelago depending on who's hosting: it's almost worth signing up just to see the sights. Unlike team sports played in fairly controlled conditions, racing means you're on your own, with the terrain and the weather as your opponents, and Janara racers tend to compensate for their shameful Quidditch losses here.

  * **One-on-one duelling**



A simple duelling tournament, the most unpredictable of all events, with no clear favourites, generating the largest betting pools. Once again, if the overall final match ends up being a north vs. south showdown, brace yourself.

  * **Team combat**



Compared to a face-off between two people at a time, the dynamic of two groups against each other is quite different: depending on the participants' tactics, teammates might end up covering each other's backs or thinking only for themselves, turning it into a free-for-all with spells flying everywhere. Rhea Silvia students are particularly good at this, having applied the Roman mentality of the _testudo_ formation to magical combat, and make very solid teams whose members rely strongly on each other.

  * **Unofficial events**



Besides the officially sanctioned competitions, delegation members somehow manage to take literally everything as a challenge, from Gobstones to Exploding Snap and from wizards' chess to stuffing their faces at the delightful banquets mixing regional cuisine from all over the country.  
~~And now I'm hungry.~~

**Author's Note:**

> Sources:
> 
> Pottermore
> 
> Wikipedia for census data and some details on Italian folklore
> 
> Surname statistics provided by [Gens](http://www.gens.info/italia/#.WHjzgVw9KxY)
> 
> Crest designs provided by [Make Your Coat of Arms](https://www.makeyourcoatofarms.com/app.asp) and edited by me


End file.
